I could literally go on for hours and make lists and lists of these absurd tabloid headlines which are obsessed with one and only thing: celebrities. What is even worse is how obsessed the American population is with stars. Our obsession with celebrities is like our obsession with food, obese and ever growing, and it is really affecting kids now too. We ogle them on television, movies and in concerts and cannot seem to get enough. What’s with us?

According to an article on PsychologyToday.com by Carlin Flora, even though it is easy to blame the media for this fixation, the real

Angelina Jolie and her parade of kids. Image courtesy of image.examiner.com

mastermind behind it is our own brains. The article goes on to point out that “celebrities tap into powerful motivational systems designed to foster romantic love and to urge us to find a mate. Stars summon our most human yearnings: to love, admire, copy and, of course, to gossip and to jeer. It’s only natural that we get pulled into their gravitational field.”

I myself am even into the celeb photos, maybe even obsessed with them. For instance, while waiting for a flight of mine over the summer, the People issue had just come out with pictures of Brad and Angelina’s new twins and I was right there with everyone else snapping up a copy to see those gorgeous newborns.

Even at my slow moving summer job I found myself perusing the people.com website checking out the latest daily photos, numbing my mind one thumbnail photo at a time.

Another aspect I always get a kick out of is the photo album on People.com and in their magazines where they try and plead with their readers that stars are “just like us!” Let’s get this straight; they are not just like us. And they never will be. Just because Angelina Jolie is toting her multi-cultural brood through a grocery store does not make her just like me. Oh look, Jessica Alba is playing with her daughter in the sandbox, aw now she’s just like me, not quite. It’s just another fantasy drawn up to make us, the avid readers, feel more connected and on the same level as the stars we aspire after.

I mean let’s face the facts, the E! Channel is solely devoted to celebrities, they even have E! News, a news program that is all about the daily ins and outs of the celeb world

OK magazine is one of the most popular tabloid magazines. Image courtesy of etonline.com

CNN.com, as well as other news sites have a link for entertainment that will lead you to the latest in celeb news and gossip, despite their main focus of hard news.

Sure, it’s nice to read about Amy Winehouse and her many rehab stints to make you feel better about your own life, but let’s remember to not get too wrapped up in celeb-gossip-town and make sure to bring our minds back down to reality.